Seat belts have been shown to have great utility in preventing injury to passengers of motor vehicles. Specifically, such seat belts generally accomplish such object by preventing, inter alia, a passenger from moving forward far enough to have his head impact the dashboard or the windshield in an accident.
As is also well documented, children, especially very small and young children, are more susceptible to such head injury causing impact than adults because, in a collision, a child can be launched from a seat in a missile-like fashion toward the windshield without impediment; whereas, an adult at least may have his legs contact the dashboard thereby slowing his velocity toward the impact point.
For this reason, it is extremely important for a child to be securely belted in his seat at all times when a motor vehicle is in operation. Accordingly, there have been several seat belt designs proposed especially for children.
However, a seat belt is of little or no use if the child unbuckles it. Therefore, there have been designs for "child proofing" a seat belt release control. Such child proofing means should balance a need to prevent the child from operating the release control with the need for the belt release to be operable by an adult in a manner which permits the belt to be quickly released in the event of an accident.
Heretofore, some known child proofing means have included a release control actuating means that is too stiff for a child to operate, or a key lock mechanism, or a complicated mechanism to actuate the release.
These known child proofing means have not been entirely successful because, while they may accomplish the object of preventing a child from operating the belt release control, they do so in a manner that may interfere with the designed operation of the belt control itself and thus may not perform the afore-discussed balancing in a most effective manner.
For example, by including a key lock, the easy access to the release control itself may be impaired, or by including means that is too stiff for a child to operate, the designed operation of the control is inhibited.
For this reason, while some known child proofing means have been proposed, automobile manufactures and sellers have been reluctant to include such means in a motor vehicle for fear that the interference with the design considerations of the seat belt release control will have more drawbacks than advantages.
Another reason for the limited acceptance of some of the known child proofing means is that some of these means may be difficult or expensive to manufacture thereby being too expensive to sell to a car buyer.
The present inventor has disclosed, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,878,277 (the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference), a cover for a seat belt release mechanism that prevents a child from operating that mechanism. This cover includes a multi-part housing having a finger access channel on the top of that housing. The housing has a bottom hingeably attached to the housing sides. The housing is opened by moving the bottom away from the sides. After the housing is opened, the seat belt release mechanism is located in the housing. The housing is then closed, and access to the seat belt release mechanism can only be obtained by way of the finger access channel. This channel is sized so that an adult can reach the release mechanism but a child cannot reach that mechanism.
While successfully overcoming many of the objections to the designs known prior thereto, even this patented device can be improved. Specifically, the multipart nature of the patented device can have drawbacks in manufacture or use under some conditions. For example, the patented device is separate from the seat belts, and is placed around the release mechanism after the seat belt is coupled. Thus, when the seat belt is not in use, the cover disclosed in the patent may tend to become lost since it may not be attached to the seat belt. If the cover is to remain attached to the seat belt when the belt is not in use, it must be closed about the belt, then opened prior buckling the seat belt, then closed once the belt is buckled up. This process may create so many steps as to discourage use of the seat belt. As has been documented, it is most beneficial to have the seat belt as easy as possible to use to encourage use of seat belts. Adding further complications to seat belt use may not be entirely desirable, even in the case of further ensuring the safety of a seat occupant.
Furthermore, attaching the patented device to a seat belt when that belt is around a child might be difficult. This is especially so if the child is squirming or moving about when the belt is being fastened and the housing is being manipulated about the buckle control mechanism. The adult must take care to ensure that the housing is properly closed so that it will not accidentally open. This situation may add enough complications to the use of the seat belt that, in one case the patented device will not be used, or in another case, the belt itself may not be used. In either case, ease of use is an important consideration in any device intended for use on a seat belt assembly of a motor vehicle. The device should be as easy to use as possible to encourage its use.
Still further, a multipart housing of the patented device may be more difficult to manufacture than a one-piece housing. The manufacturing cost may thereby be higher than is desired.
Still further, the patented means is not amenable to being easily incorporated into a seat belt buckle mechanism whereby the buckle mechanism and the child proofing means can be manufactured as a single integral unit.
It is often desirable for the child proofed seat belt buckle assembly to be located in full view of a motor vehicle operator. Such positioning will permit the driver to check the seat belt to be sure the child has not released or impaired the connection of the assembly. This is especially helpful in those instances when the child has a history of releasing the buckle assembly. Of course, this positioning of the assembly should be such that the driver of the motor vehicle need not divert his attention from his driving for long periods of time in order to check the assembly.